A special day

November 12, 2004

Yesterday was a memorable day for Pvt. Larry Melson of Winthrop.

It was his two-month anniversary of when he graduated infantry school as a brand new soldier.

It was Veterans Day.

And it was the day he earned his Combat Infantry Badge for his participation as a gunner in a nasty fire fight north of Camp Taji.

And it was the day he earned a Purple Heart.

A bullet from an AK-47 rifle penetrated his gunner’s shield and grazed his shoulder.

Don’t worry, he’s fine. He was bandaged up and back in his gunner seat the same day.

But that’s a lot for one day.

Staff Sgt. Michael Lynn of Magnolia recounted the fire fight in between sneezes. He led 4th Platoon, Delta Company, 3rd Battalion of Arkansas’ 39th Infantry Brigade in the fire fight in the Sunni Triangle last night.

And he was fighting a cold at the same time.

The bullets pierced two of the platoon’s humvees, disabling them. And the fight came darn close to ringing in Lynn’s birthday.

But all fell quiet before midnight.

I guess it just shows that time moves on and milestones are marked even when bullets fly.

Posted by Amy at November 12, 2004 03:52 PM